The business community of Ukraine has appealed to the peers and civil society in the Netherlands to support the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU at a referendum on April 6. An open joint statement was adopted at the Ukrainian Business Forum, which was recently held in Kyiv and presented the consolidated position of the majority of domestic enterprises.
“Ukraine is a European country that shares common history and values with the EU countries. It has already sustained considerable losses in the struggle for the irreversibility of European integration. The main purpose of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU is to establish modern European standards, the rule of law, protection of private property, equal competition,” participants in the Forum said.
Co-initiator of the Forum, President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs Anatoliy Kinakh said that the introduction of a free trade zone, which is a significant part of the Association Agreement, is aimed at streamlining trade legislation, eliminating most of existing limitations, expanding trade relations between Ukraine and the European Union.
“This allows any EU company to enjoy the same access to the Ukrainian partners and market as, let say, to partners and the markets in Belgium, Italy, Sweden, and Poland. Under the Agreement, Ukraine also undertakes to implement a series of reforms, the fulfillment of which will substantially change the current legislation of Ukraine in the field of trade, environmental standards, social security. These reforms will bring Ukraine closer to EU legislative standards,” reads the joint statement by the business community of Ukraine.
Representatives of Ukrainian businesses and the public urged his colleagues from the Netherlands to support Ukraine’s European aspirations and in every way possible to encourage the positive results of the referendum on April 6.
As is known, the Parliament of the Netherlands ratified the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU on July 7, 2015, after which the document was signed by the King of the country. The initiative to hold the referendum was put forth by members of the public who managed to collect the required number of signatures for it. The Dutch electoral council scheduled an advisory referendum for April 6, 2016.
The Ukrainian business forum brought together about two hundred associations and organizations of industrialists, entrepreneurs, employers, scientists and experts who have consolidated their forces for the sake of overcoming the crisis and the economic growth of the state.
The co-organizers of the Forum include large and influential business and public organizations: the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the “Ukrainian Business Initiative” Association, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, the Nova Kraina civic platform, NGO “UA is Me.”
The main document of the Forum – a plan of urgent measures to overcome the emergency situation in the economy of Ukraine – is currently being finalized.
